Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the "Free Gaza" Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course.

Large groups of passengers surrounded soldiers and beat them with metal poles and chairs, and threw one soldier over the side of the ship. Some passengers grabbed pistols from the IDF soldiers and opened fire. As a result of the attacks, seven IDF soldiers were injured, and nine of the passengers were killed.

The "Free Gaza" Flotilla had publicly insisted on their non-violent intentions, however their violent attack on the IDF soldiers was clearly premeditated. They had knives, metal rods, firebombs and other items ready to use.

As might be expected, when the terrorist flotilla was confronted by the Israeli Navy and refused to turn back, the result was a bloody clash instigated by the armed, left-wing, so-called "peace activiss" on the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara.

The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.

In 2008, the Israelis banned IHH, along with 35 other Islamist charities worldwide, for its ties to the Union of Good. This was a follow-on designation; Israelis first blocked the Union of Good from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002.

Interestingly, the Union of Good may not only be tied to Hamas. Included in the Israeli list of 36 designees was the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). In 2006, both the U.S. government and the United Nations designated the IIRO branch offices in Indonesia and the Philippines for financing al Qaeda. French magistrate Jean-Louis Brougiere also testified that IHH had an "important role" in Ahmed Ressam's failed "millennium plot" to bomb the Los Angeles airport in late 1999.

The U.S. government, it should be noted, also views the Union of Good as a terrorist organization. On November 12, 2008, a press release from the U.S. Treasury announced the umbrella group's leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), stating that the group was "created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization."

"Terrorist groups such as Hamas continue to exploit charities to radicalize vulnerable communities and cultivate support for their violent activities," said Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey.

According to Treasury, Hamas's leadership actually created the Union of Good in 2000 -- just after the launch of the armed campaign against Israel -- as a means to transfer funds to Hamas. At the time of designation in 2008, the Treasury believed that the Union of Good was transferring "tens of millions of dollars a year" to Hamas-controlled entities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

As the Treasury release explained, "The Union of Good acts as a broker for Hamas by facilitating financial transfers between a web of charitable organizations - including several organizations previously designated terrorist organizationsn - for providing support to Hamas and Hamas-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The primary purpose of this activity is to strengthen Hamas' political and military position in the West Bank and Gaza."

It gets worse. The Treasury, drawing from declassified documents, stated unequivocally that the Union of Good "compensated Hamas terrorists by providing payments to the families of suicide bombers. One of [the charities], the Al-Salah Society, previously identified as a key support node for Hamas, was designated in August 2007... The Society employed a number of members of the Hamas military wing and supported Hamas-affiliated combatants during the first Intifada."

Then there's the leadership. Apart from the aforementioned Qardawi, Union of Good's top officials include Hamas members, as well as Yemeni national Abd al-Majid al-Zindani, who was designated by the U.S. Treasury as a terrorist in 2004 for providing support to al Qaeda.

As for the bloody clash that resulted when the IDF attempted to head off the number of boats attempting to run the blockade on Gaza - necessitated by Hamas' repeated attacks on Israel, Ed Morrissey provides the details of what really happened - and has the video to back it up:

They boarded the lead ship by helicopter, expecting to either convince the occupants to turn back or to commandeer the boat themselves. What they didn't expect was to find armed "peace activists," and a bloody melee ensued:

The left-wing activists on board a flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip tried to lynch the Israel Navy commandos who stormed their Turkish-flagged ship early Monday, Israel Defense Forces sources told Haaretz.

The commandos, who intercepted the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara after it ignored orders to turn back, said they encountered violent resistance from activists armed with sticks and knives. According to the soldiers, the activists threw one of their comrades from the upper deck to the lower after they boarded.

Activists attacked a commando with iron bars as he descended onto the ship from a helicopter, the army said. The IDF said its rules of engagement allowed troops to open fire in what it called a "life-threatening situation".

The soldiers said they were forced to open fire after the activists struck one of their comrades in the head and trampled on him. A senior field commander ordered the soldiers then to respond with fire, a decision which the commandos said received full backing the military echelon.

At least 10 people were killed and several more wounded after the Israel Navy troops opened fire on the six-ship flotilla. Unofficial reports put the death toll at between 14 and 20.

In other coverage, Pamela Geller writes that today's incident on the Gaza jihad flotilla was an act of war - but not by Israel. The tsunami of Jew-hating propaganda from the jihad-loving media has already begun: The Jihad Flotilla and the Media War Against Israel.

Pamela calls attention to the fact that AP coverage on the story doesn't mention that the day before the raid, the ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒ...Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ'Ã†'ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦"humanitariansÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒ...Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ on the jihad flotilla were chanting: "Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!":

Related: "Free Gaza" Flotilla Defeats the Israel Defense Forces
A Question of Proportionality (... why should any democratic government empowered to defend its citizenry accept Europe's idea of proportion? When attacked, why should not a stronger nation or its representatives try to both protects its own personnel at all costs and, in the wider scheme of things, defeat its adversaries?)

Posted by Richard at May 31, 2010 5:22 PM

The Terror Finance Flotilla To Gaza (Updated)

Update Tthis video more clearly shows the Israeli commandoes being attacked one-by-one as they slide down a rope from a helicopter to the ship.\n\nVia IDF Blog:

Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the \"Free Gaza\" Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course.\n\nLarge groups of passengers surrounded soldiers and beat them with metal poles and chairs, and threw one soldier over the side of the ship. Some passengers grabbed pistols from the IDF soldiers and opened fire. As a result of the attacks, seven IDF soldiers were injured, and nine of the passengers were killed.\n\nThe \"Free Gaza\" Flotilla had publicly insisted on their non-violent intentions, however their violent attack on the IDF soldiers was clearly premeditated. They had knives, metal rods, firebombs and other items ready to use.

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\n\n(Original post befins here) The mainstream media want to ignore the fact that the convoy of ships allegedly trying to bring aid to the Gaza Strip was organized and financed by the Turkish IHH (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi in Turkish), a Turkish humanitarian relief fund with a radical Islamic anti-Western orientation - officially designated terrorist organization. \n\nAs might be expected, when the terrorist flotilla was confronted by the Israeli Navy and refused to turn back, the result was a bloody clash instigated by the armed, left-wing, so-called \"peace activiss\" on the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara.\n\nJonathan Schanzer has the backgound on the terrorist-supporting organization:\n\n

The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.\n\nIn 2008, the Israelis banned IHH, along with 35 other Islamist charities worldwide, for its ties to the Union of Good. This was a follow-on designation; Israelis first blocked the Union of Good from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002. \n\nInterestingly, the Union of Good may not only be tied to Hamas. Included in the Israeli list of 36 designees was the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). In 2006, both the U.S. government and the United Nations designated the IIRO branch offices in Indonesia and the Philippines for financing al Qaeda. French magistrate Jean-Louis Brougiere also testified that IHH had an \"important role\" in Ahmed Ressam's failed \"millennium plot\" to bomb the Los Angeles airport in late 1999.\n\nThe U.S. government, it should be noted, also views the Union of Good as a terrorist organization. On November 12, 2008, a press release from the U.S. Treasury announced the umbrella group's leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), stating that the group was \"created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.\"\n\n\"Terrorist groups such as Hamas continue to exploit charities to radicalize vulnerable communities and cultivate support for their violent activities,\" said Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey.\n\nAccording to Treasury, Hamas's leadership actually created the Union of Good in 2000 -- just after the launch of the armed campaign against Israel -- as a means to transfer funds to Hamas. At the time of designation in 2008, the Treasury believed that the Union of Good was transferring \"tens of millions of dollars a year\" to Hamas-controlled entities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.\n\nAs the Treasury release explained, \"The Union of Good acts as a broker for Hamas by facilitating financial transfers between a web of charitable organizations - including several organizations previously designated terrorist organizationsn - for providing support to Hamas and Hamas-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The primary purpose of this activity is to strengthen Hamas' political and military position in the West Bank and Gaza.\"\n\nIt gets worse. The Treasury, drawing from declassified documents, stated unequivocally that the Union of Good \"compensated Hamas terrorists by providing payments to the families of suicide bombers. One of [the charities], the Al-Salah Society, previously identified as a key support node for Hamas, was designated in August 2007... The Society employed a number of members of the Hamas military wing and supported Hamas-affiliated combatants during the first Intifada.\"\n\nThen there's the leadership. Apart from the aforementioned Qardawi, Union of Good's top officials include Hamas members, as well as Yemeni national Abd al-Majid al-Zindani, who was designated by the U.S. Treasury as a terrorist in 2004 for providing support to al Qaeda.

Read more ...\n\nAs for the bloody clash that resulted when the IDF attempted to head off the number of boats attempting to run the blockade on Gaza - necessitated by Hamas' repeated attacks on Israel, Ed Morrissey provides the details of what really happened - and has the video to back it up:

They boarded the lead ship by helicopter, expecting to either convince the occupants to turn back or to commandeer the boat themselves. What they didn't expect was to find armed \"peace activists,\" and a bloody melee ensued:

The left-wing activists on board a flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip tried to lynch the Israel Navy commandos who stormed their Turkish-flagged ship early Monday, Israel Defense Forces sources told Haaretz.\n\n The commandos, who intercepted the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara after it ignored orders to turn back, said they encountered violent resistance from activists armed with sticks and knives. According to the soldiers, the activists threw one of their comrades from the upper deck to the lower after they boarded.\n\n Activists attacked a commando with iron bars as he descended onto the ship from a helicopter, the army said. The IDF said its rules of engagement allowed troops to open fire in what it called a \"life-threatening situation\".\n\n The soldiers said they were forced to open fire after the activists struck one of their comrades in the head and trampled on him. A senior field commander ordered the soldiers then to respond with fire, a decision which the commandos said received full backing the military echelon.\n\n At least 10 people were killed and several more wounded after the Israel Navy troops opened fire on the six-ship flotilla. Unofficial reports put the death toll at between 14 and 20.

Continue reading ...\n\n\nIn other coverage, Pamela Geller writes that today's incident on the Gaza jihad flotilla was an act of war - but not by Israel. The tsunami of Jew-hating propaganda from the jihad-loving media has already begun: The Jihad Flotilla and the Media War Against Israel.\n\nPamela calls attention to the fact that AP coverage on the story doesn't mention that the day before the raid, the ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒ...Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ'Ã†'ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦\"humanitariansÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ'Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒ...Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ'Ã†'Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿ÃƒÆ'Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ on the jihad flotilla were chanting: \"Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!\":

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\n \nMore here ...\n\n\nRelated: \n\"Free Gaza\" Flotilla Defeats the Israel Defense Forces\nA Question of Proportionality (... why should any democratic government empowered to defend its citizenry accept Europe's idea of proportion? When attacked, why should not a stronger nation or its representatives try to both protects its own personnel at all costs and, in the wider scheme of things, defeat its adversaries?)\n\n